“It’s more than simply doing a cut here, another thing there. It’s really just saying the total picture,” Snyder told WWJ’s Greg Bowman and Robert Jasina.

“We have a broken tax system and we have a broken budget system and it’s time to put the whole thing together the right way,” he said.

Snyder said that while his budget plan calls for spending cuts for schools, that money will be recaptured.

“When you talk about (Kindergarten) through (grade) twelve, if you look at it, we propose cuts somewhere over the $5 million range. But, at the same time, we were able to mention at least two items that more than make up for what that cut would be that are best practice… that are best for us for the longterm,” Snyder said.

“They include things like health care premiums — going to an eighty-twenty split on those things, instead of having people pay zero to ten percent. That brings back $300 million of that $500 million, just with that single action,” he said.

Snyder went on to say that he knows people are upset, but he said residents need to stop thinking about what they’re losing, and focus instead on where they’ll end up. He said Michigan will be stronger in the long run.

When asked about jobs, Snyder said he can’t promise an exact number — but he did say his budget will boost employment in the state.

“You can’t put a specific number on it, but very clearly it incentives positive economic activity and will create jobs of all types,” Snyder said. “Great jobs at the high-end in terms of technology, innovation jobs; but it’ll create minimum wage jobs. We need jobs of all types because we have a serious unemployment and underemployment problem,” Snyder said.